Jet Suspends International Ops Till 15th, PMO Calls Emergency Meet

The stake sale bid invited by the SBI-led consortium of bankers, also closes by the end of Friday.

Employees of Jet Airways participate in a protest to demand clarification on unpaid salaries in Mumbai (L). Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R)

(Photo: AP/Altered by The Quint)

Cash-strapped carrier Jet Airways on Friday, 12 April, extended suspension of its international operations till next Monday due to severe liquidity issues.

The crisis in Jet Airways has deepened as the airline could operate only 11 aircraft on Friday leaving passengers stranded at various domestic and international airports. Reportedly the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) held an urgent meeting to discuss the situation.

The meeting was called after Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu asked secretary of the department Pradeep Singh Kharola to review issues concerning Jet Airways, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.

After participating in the meeting at the PMO, Kharola held a meeting through video conference with the management of Jet Airways.

The stake sale bid invited by the SBI-led consortium of bankers, which manages the day-to-operations of the airline, also closes by the end of Friday, after being extended by two days.

Airline founder Naresh Goyal, the UAE carrier Etihad Airways, Air Canada and the country's national investment fund among others are reported to have submitted bids, according to media reports.

Further, a DGCA official on Friday said that Jet Airways currently has only 16 operational aircrafts available with it, PTI reported.

On Thursday, the airline had announced temporary grounding of its international operations for day – Jet was the largest international airline from the country till the financial crisis – when it had also suspended operations to the entire Eastern and Northeastern markets as Jet was forced to ground 10 more aircraft following default of lease rentals.

Jet was the largest domestic carrier operating in the international sector with a hub in Amsterdam, where a cargo agent had taken possession of an aircraft this on Tuesday demanding bill payment. This led to the cancellation of the Amsterdam-Mumbai flight that day.

“Thursday Jet flights to London, Amsterdam and Paris from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru scheduled were cancelled for operational reasons," Jet had said, adding it had also cancelled the Bengaluru-Amsterdam-Bengaluru flight for Friday.

On the domestic front, all Jet operations to and from the Eastern and Northeastern states were suspended till further notice. Following this, there would no Jet flights to and from Kolkata, Patna, Guwahati and other airports in the region, travel industry source had told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)